We All Have Our Monsters
by Lokiitty
Summary: Clara and the Doctor are on a trip to Asgard, when they meet a young, innocent and energetic Asgardian prince named, Loki. Little does The Doctor know that this won't be the last time he encounters Loki, and next time things will be very different. This is my first published story, so feedback is appreciated!
1. Chapter 1

Chapter two

Clara caught up with The Doctor and they moved through the stalls, taking their time and admiring what each of the vendors had to offer. There were booths selling jewellery, potions of all sorts, food, clothing, nick-nacks, toys and many more wondrous things. It was basically just like your average market, merchandise-wise, it was the vendors and customers that made it interesting. Most were dressed in Asgadian clothing, which Clara noted, made them look like they were prepared for battle at any moment.

There were also a few non-Asgardians. Like The Doctor had said, there was one merchant from Alfheim and two customers from Vanaheim. Clara was very surprised at the Light Elf from Alfheim. The elf was a female, and she looked just like a human. Her clothing consisted of mainly burlap and leather, her shirt a soft green and her trousers brown. She was really quite sweet, and Clara was shocked to discover that she spoke English. She asked The Doctor about it later, and he explained to her that she had spent enough time in the Tardis now that its energy was starting to affect her in a few ways. One of which was that she could hear different languages in her own.

"She must be starting to warm up to you." The Doctor said, grinning.

They bought some fruit from the elf, the name of which neither of them could remember for more than a few seconds nor even begin to pronounce. The fruit was sweet and it made Clara's tongue feel all tingly.  
After they looked around the market for a while, The Doctor suggested that they do a bit of exploring around the springs and patches of forest that lined the bottom of the mountains. Clara nodded in agreement, so The Doctor started to lead them away from the market.

"Those tall, metallic building are only for nobility and their workers," The Doctor said, motioning to the futuristic buildings that lined the smaller mountains. "There actually isn't really a lot of non-nobility here in Asgard. Just merchants who come here once or twice an Asgardian week to sell their materials, the maids, butlers and manservant's. Then it's just the minor gods, nobilities and the gods themselves." The Doctor explained, waving his hands around expressively as he spoke.

"So wait. Like, Thor and Frigga and Odin are literally up there, right now?" Clara inquired in awe. She looked up at the long pipes that protruded out of the land and up into the sky. She couldn't fathom that she was so close to the gods that everyone –herself included- had always been taught were myths. The Doctor smiled at her. He could just see the gears spinning in her head, trying to make sense of it all.

"Yes, they probably are, although they are only young yet. I'm not even entirely sure that Thor has even been born. I'm guessing by the overall atmosphere that the war between Jutonheim and Asgard has been settled though, so I'm not sure…" Clara was still staring at the palace on the mountainside over her shoulder. It was starting to get a little harder to see, as they had entered a wooded area.

Finally Clara averted her attention from the palace and focused on what was ahead of her. They had come to one on the springs. Only a little farther beyond that was a cave that sunk deep into the mountains that lay before them. Clara had been so lost in her thoughts that she hadn't really noticed how far they had come. The Doctor ran forward and dipped his fingers into the pond causing a school of little fish to jump away. Clara came up beside him and examined the water. It was very clear, exposing a bottom that was very much filled with life. There were many small fish and these strange creatures that looked almost like Butterflies, but more aquatic. There was a strange, shimmering, oily-like substance that covered the top of the water, and it swirled whenever one of the creature bellowed moved, and every once in a while it would release a puff of something into the air, like a little geyser. Through the trees ahead of them, 5 black horses were grazing. The Doctor noticed Clara watching them.

"There are a lot of wild Horses on Asgard. Asgardian horses are some of the finest horses I've ever seen." He said, almost dreamily.

After 10 minutes or so around the spring, they decided to move on into the woods a bit farther. The trees were huge and lush, and they held a different sent than the trees back home, Clara thought. Almost smokey smelling, she noted. Small tropical birds (or were those bugs?) whizzed through the forest's canopy and shiny beetles littered the ground.

"Don't worry, they don't bite." The Doctor reassured Clara.

They had been walking for quite sometime with little conversation, both of them occupied in their surroundings, when suddenly The Doctor put his hand out in front of Clara, halting her mid-stride. He pressed his finger to his lips, then, quietly pointed to a giant tree to Clara's left. Clara felt a shiver go up her spine as she imagined all the creatures that could be lurking behind that tree, about to jump out. Before she could say anything, The Doctor was slowly making his way around the tree. She sighed and followed him, slowly.

Behind the tree was not what she was expecting at all. It wasn't a monster; it was a boy, sitting with his back against the giant trunk, poking at some leaves with a stick. His head swirled around to face whatever was approaching him. _He's been crying_, Clara thought, catching a glimpse of the boy's eyes. She stayed back where she could watch what The Doctor did, but at an angle where she figured the child wouldn't notice her.

"Who are you?" The boy asked. The Doctor slowly walked the rest of the way towards the boy and knelt down beside him before replying. The boy didn't seem scared by The Doctor, only curious.

"I'm The Doctor," The Doctor said, his voice soft. The way The Doctor spoke to children made Clara wonder whether maybe, at one time in his past, The Doctor had had children himself…

"A doctor?" The boy asked, his green eyes growing wide and a smile slipping onto his face. "Is she a doctor, too?" He peered around the tree at Clara. She jumped, not realising he had seen her, too.

"No I'm just a friend." Clara replied hesitantly for him.

"Who are you?" The Doctor inquired, tilting his head to the side like a curious puppy.

"I'm Loki. You… you said you were a Doctor," The Doctor hesitated, but then nodded. "Then do you think you could help me?"

"Well, I can try! What's the matter?" The Doctor asked.  
_Loki?_ Clara thought, shocked. _No, it can't be…_

The boy looked down and his smile disappeared. He was small, and quite skinny; Clara placed him at about 9 or 10 years old. He had shaggy black hair and bright green eyes. He was wearing green and black Asgardian clothing, and looked overall very clean aside from the dirt of the forest floor that covered his hands and trousers.

"I'm different and…and I don't want to be different. Do you think you could fix me?" He said, hurt in his voice.

"Fix you?" The Doctor pondered, his voice automatically filling with sympathy.

"Yes. I'm different and I…I don't like it." He replied, making eye contact with The Doctor, then Clara. Clara moved forward and planted herself in front of the boy, putting her hands on her knees to better meet his eye level.

"There's nothing wrong with being different!" Clara encouraged. The boy looked down again.

"There is when you're a prince," he sighed. "My brother, Thor, he's a prince, too, but he's much better at it than I am. Sometimes…sometimes I think father loves him much more than he loves me." A tear welled up in the child's eye, but he swiped it away before it could fall.

"What makes you think that?" Clara asked, her face growing quite concerned.

"It's just…it's just the way he looks at him. He doesn't ever look at me like that. Thor's so strong and perfect at everything that he does. I can never be as important or good as him, and although father says we're both destined to be kings… I just can't believe him. I'm too different, I can tell and it's… lonely…" Clara's face softened and she leaned forward to put her hand on the boy's shoulder. He looked up at her, his eyes sad.

"I know you might feel like you aren't worth as much as Thor, or that you're not as good as Thor but, like I said before, there's nothing wrong with being a little different. Being different doesn't mean you can't be a mighty king one day, or be as strong as the others! Okay?" Clara glanced over at The Doctor. The Doctor smiled.

"Exactly, I couldn't have put it better myself." He comforted. Loki looked both startled and happy.

Nobody had ever put it quite like that before. Or even anywhere near like that before. It was the first time in a long time anyone had really put an effort into showing that they honestly cared for him, and that he'd believed them to be sincere. It felt good, but he still wasn't completely reassured.

"But, my brother…"

"Your brother is not you," The Doctor interrupted. "You and your brother are to completely different and unique people. Everyone's unique! Imagine if everyone were exactly like your brother." Loki's smile returned and he giggled.

"That would be rather silly, wouldn't it?" Loki looked over at the palace that was just visible through the trees. He jumped up to his feet, his energy revitalized. "I have to go now, it'll be dinner soon." He started walking back the way Clara and The Doctor had come. "Thank you, farewell strangers!" And with that he was jogging back to the palace.

"_That_ was, Loki? Like, god of _mischief_ Loki?" Clara said once the boy was out of earshot.

"Yes, little Loki. Lovely little boy, isn't he? I have to say though; I was expecting a bit more…mischief! Well, I've never met him before, only read about him in earth's old stories and legends. Maybe they were wrong in naming him The God of Mischief."

"He certainly seems like a sweet kid to me," Clara stated. "I hope things get better for him." She said, her voice filling with sympathy.

"Oh, I'm sure they will. All younger brothers feel under minded every once and a while, but things usually aren't as bad as they seem." He paused, smiling. "So!" he exclaimed, turning to face one of the mountains that stood behind them. "What do you say we do a bit of rock climbing?" His eyes grew wild with excitement.

"But, I thought we weren't allowed around those buildings." Clara reminded him, nervously.

"We'll only be in trouble if we get caught!" He yelled as he took of towards the hillside. Clara rolled her eyes, but soon found herself running to catch up to him.

_Authors note: Sorry this took so long to upload, my Internet's been acting quite strangely lately, the other chapters hopefully won't take as long. Meanwhile, thank you for being patient and continue to feel free to give any feedback you have! Thanks!_


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter two

Clara caught up with The Doctor and they moved through the stalls, taking their time and admiring what each of the vendors had to offer. There were booths selling jewellery, potions of all sorts, food, clothing, nick-nacks, toys and many more wondrous things. It was basically just like your average market, merchandise-wise, it was the vendors and customers that made it interesting. Most were dressed in Asgadian clothing, which Clara noted, made them look like they were prepared for battle at any moment.

There were also a few non-Asgardians. Like The Doctor had said, there was one merchant from Alfheim and two customers from Vanaheim. Clara was very surprised at the Light Elf from Alfheim. The elf was a female, and she looked just like a human. Her clothing consisted of mainly burlap and leather, her shirt a soft green and her trousers brown. She was really quite sweet, and Clara was shocked to discover that she spoke English. She asked The Doctor about it later, and he explained to her that she had spent enough time in the Tardis now that its energy was starting to affect her in a few ways. One of which was that she could hear different languages in her own.

"She must be starting to warm up to you." The Doctor said, grinning.

They bought some fruit from the elf, the name of which neither of them could remember for more than a few seconds nor even begin to pronounce. The fruit was sweet and it made Clara's tongue feel all tingly.  
After they looked around the market for a while, The Doctor suggested that they do a bit of exploring around the springs and patches of forest that lined the bottom of the mountains. Clara nodded in agreement, so The Doctor started to lead them away from the market.

"Those tall, metallic building are only for nobility and their workers," The Doctor said, motioning to the futuristic buildings that lined the smaller mountains. "There actually isn't really a lot of non-nobility here in Asgard. Just merchants who come here once or twice an Asgardian week to sell their materials, the maids, butlers and manservant's. Then it's just the minor gods, nobilities and the gods themselves." The Doctor explained, waving his hands around expressively as he spoke.

"So wait. Like, Thor and Frigga and Odin are literally up there, right now?" Clara inquired in awe. She looked up at the long pipes that protruded out of the land and up into the sky. She couldn't fathom that she was so close to the gods that everyone –herself included- had always been taught were myths. The Doctor smiled at her. He could just see the gears spinning in her head, trying to make sense of it all.

"Yes, they probably are, although they are only young yet. I'm not even entirely sure that Thor has even been born. I'm guessing by the overall atmosphere that the war between Jutonheim and Asgard has been settled though, so I'm not sure…" Clara was still staring at the palace on the mountainside over her shoulder. It was starting to get a little harder to see, as they had entered a wooded area.

Finally Clara averted her attention from the palace and focused on what was ahead of her. They had come to one on the springs. Only a little farther beyond that was a cave that sunk deep into the mountains that lay before them. Clara had been so lost in her thoughts that she hadn't really noticed how far they had come. The Doctor ran forward and dipped his fingers into the pond causing a school of little fish to jump away. Clara came up beside him and examined the water. It was very clear, exposing a bottom that was very much filled with life. There were many small fish and these strange creatures that looked almost like Butterflies, but more aquatic. There was a strange, shimmering, oily-like substance that covered the top of the water, and it swirled whenever one of the creature bellowed moved, and every once in a while it would release a puff of something into the air, like a little geyser. Through the trees ahead of them, 5 black horses were grazing. The Doctor noticed Clara watching them.

"There are a lot of wild Horses on Asgard. Asgardian horses are some of the finest horses I've ever seen." He said, almost dreamily.

After 10 minutes or so around the spring, they decided to move on into the woods a bit farther. The trees were huge and lush, and they held a different sent than the trees back home, Clara thought. Almost smokey smelling, she noted. Small tropical birds (or were those bugs?) whizzed through the forest's canopy and shiny beetles littered the ground.

"Don't worry, they don't bite." The Doctor reassured Clara.

They had been walking for quite sometime with little conversation, both of them occupied in their surroundings, when suddenly The Doctor put his hand out in front of Clara, halting her mid-stride. He pressed his finger to his lips, then, quietly pointed to a giant tree to Clara's left. Clara felt a shiver go up her spine as she imagined all the creatures that could be lurking behind that tree, about to jump out. Before she could say anything, The Doctor was slowly making his way around the tree. She sighed and followed him, slowly.

Behind the tree was not what she was expecting at all. It wasn't a monster; it was a boy, sitting with his back against the giant trunk, poking at some leaves with a stick. His head swirled around to face whatever was approaching him. _He's been crying_, Clara thought, catching a glimpse of the boy's eyes. She stayed back where she could watch what The Doctor did, but at an angle where she figured the child wouldn't notice her.

"Who are you?" The boy asked. The Doctor slowly walked the rest of the way towards the boy and knelt down beside him before replying. The boy didn't seem scared by The Doctor, only curious.

"I'm The Doctor," The Doctor said, his voice soft. The way The Doctor spoke to children made Clara wonder whether maybe, at one time in his past, The Doctor had had children himself…

"A doctor?" The boy asked, his green eyes growing wide and a smile slipping onto his face. "Is she a doctor, too?" He peered around the tree at Clara. She jumped, not realising he had seen her, too.

"No I'm just a friend." Clara replied hesitantly for him.

"Who are you?" The Doctor inquired, tilting his head to the side like a curious puppy.

"I'm Loki. You… you said you were a Doctor," The Doctor hesitated, but then nodded. "Then do you think you could help me?"

"Well, I can try! What's the matter?" The Doctor asked.  
_Loki?_ Clara thought, shocked. _No, it can't be…_

The boy looked down and his smile disappeared. He was small, and quite skinny; Clara placed him at about 9 or 10 years old. He had shaggy black hair and bright green eyes. He was wearing green and black Asgardian clothing, and looked overall very clean aside from the dirt of the forest floor that covered his hands and trousers.

"I'm different and…and I don't want to be different. Do you think you could fix me?" He said, hurt in his voice.

"Fix you?" The Doctor pondered, his voice automatically filling with sympathy.

"Yes. I'm different and I…I don't like it." He replied, making eye contact with The Doctor, then Clara. Clara moved forward and planted herself in front of the boy, putting her hands on her knees to better meet his eye level.

"There's nothing wrong with being different!" Clara encouraged. The boy looked down again.

"There is when you're a prince," he sighed. "My brother, Thor, he's a prince, too, but he's much better at it than I am. Sometimes…sometimes I think father loves him much more than he loves me." A tear welled up in the child's eye, but he swiped it away before it could fall.

"What makes you think that?" Clara asked, her face growing quite concerned.

"It's just…it's just the way he looks at him. He doesn't ever look at me like that. Thor's so strong and perfect at everything that he does. I can never be as important or good as him, and although father says we're both destined to be kings… I just can't believe him. I'm too different, I can tell and it's… lonely…" Clara's face softened and she leaned forward to put her hand on the boy's shoulder. He looked up at her, his eyes sad.

"I know you might feel like you aren't worth as much as Thor, or that you're not as good as Thor but, like I said before, there's nothing wrong with being a little different. Being different doesn't mean you can't be a mighty king one day, or be as strong as the others! Okay?" Clara glanced over at The Doctor. The Doctor smiled.

"Exactly, I couldn't have put it better myself." He comforted. Loki looked both startled and happy.

Nobody had ever put it quite like that before. Or even anywhere near like that before. It was the first time in a long time anyone had really put an effort into showing that they honestly cared for him, and that he'd believed them to be sincere. It felt good, but he still wasn't completely reassured.

"But, my brother…"

"Your brother is not you," The Doctor interrupted. "You and your brother are to completely different and unique people. Everyone's unique! Imagine if everyone were exactly like your brother." Loki's smile returned and he giggled.

"That would be rather silly, wouldn't it?" Loki looked over at the palace that was just visible through the trees. He jumped up to his feet, his energy revitalized. "I have to go now, it'll be dinner soon." He started walking back the way Clara and The Doctor had come. "Thank you, farewell strangers!" And with that he was jogging back to the palace.

"_That_ was, Loki? Like, god of _mischief_ Loki?" Clara said once the boy was out of earshot.

"Yes, little Loki. Lovely little boy, isn't he? I have to say though; I was expecting a bit more…mischief! Well, I've never met him before, only read about him in earth's old stories and legends. Maybe they were wrong in naming him The God of Mischief."

"He certainly seems like a sweet kid to me," Clara stated. "I hope things get better for him." She said, her voice filling with sympathy.

"Oh, I'm sure they will. All younger brothers feel under minded every once and a while, but things usually aren't as bad as they seem." He paused, smiling. "So!" he exclaimed, turning to face one of the mountains that stood behind them. "What do you say we do a bit of rock climbing?" His eyes grew wild with excitement.

"But, I thought we weren't allowed around those buildings." Clara reminded him, nervously.

"We'll only be in trouble if we get caught!" He yelled as he took of towards the hillside. Clara rolled her eyes, but soon found herself running to catch up to him.

_Authors note: Sorry this took so long to upload, my Internet's been acting quite strangely lately, the other chapters hopefully won't take as long. Meanwhile, thank you for being patient and continue to feel free to give any feedback you have! Thanks!_


End file.
